Winter leaves its marks in places you stop looking at by February: the lawn edge, the metal rail, the foot of the brick wall. One five-zone walk in early spring finds them, tells salt damage from look-alikes and puts the repairs in a sensible order.
In This Article
When to walk, and in what order
Wait until the ground has thawed and the pavement is dry, usually some time in March or April. Bring your phone, a notepad and a tape measure. If you took photos of the edges, the mailbox and the beds last fall, bring those too, so you can compare.
Work outward from the house in this order: the driveway, walks and steps first, then the lawn and beds beside them, then metal and hardware, then the foot of the walls, and finally the eaves. Photograph each problem with something for scale, and jot the date.
Five zones and what to look for
| Zone | What to look for | First move |
|---|---|---|
| Driveway, walks and steps | Potholes, crumbling edges and new cracks in asphalt. Flaking or pitting on concrete. Sunken or heaved pavers and empty joints on interlock. Wobbly railings | Sweep off grit, rinse, mark each problem with chalk and photograph it |
| Lawn and beds beside the pavement | Brown strips, torn sod at the edges, flattened or leaning shrubs, snapped branches | Rake gently, water the strip well and wait for growth before deciding what is dead |
| Metal and hardware | Rust on railings, gates, the mailbox, the garage door bottom edge and the house number | Rinse off salt, sand and touch up the paint before rust spreads |
| The foot of the walls | White crust or flaking on brick, stone and concrete near the ground, stains on siding beside the drive, and weep holes buried by soil or old snowbanks | Rinse gently, and keep weep holes open. See weep holes in brick homes |
| Eaves and downspouts | Runs bent or pulled from the fascia, split downspouts, cracked splash blocks | Photograph and book a repair. See how to spot gutter damage |
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Salt damage, or a look-alike?
Brown grass in April is not always salt. Read the pattern.
- Salt burn follows the pavement: brown or yellow strips along the driveway, the walk and the road edge, worst where slush was piled, and spreading downhill.
- Snow mould shows as matted grey or pinkish rings and patches that appear as the snow melts.
- Vole runs are winding tracks of chewed, bare grass at the surface.
- Compaction shows where a deep snowpile sat for weeks, leaving flat, slow-growing turf.
If the damage does not follow the pavement or the places where plowed slush was piled, look for another cause.
Snow load and frost: shrubs, fences and steps
Heavy snow and hard frost leave a second kind of damage that has nothing to do with salt.
- Shrubs. Evergreens bent or splayed by a heavy load may recover, so wait for new growth before removing them. Cut broken branches back cleanly to sound wood.
- Fences and gates. Leaning posts, sticking gates and gaps under panels point to frost heave. Note which posts moved. Resetting is easier while the ground is still soft.
- Steps and stoops. A step that has shifted, or a new gap at the door frame, deserves a photo and a measurement. If the gap keeps growing, ask a professional to look.
- Pavers and edging. Raised corners are trip hazards and catch shovel and blower edges next winter, so mark them now.
Rinse, sweep, repair, then reseed
- Sweep leftover salt and sand off hard surfaces before rain washes them into the lawn.
- Rinse pavement, metal and the foot of the walls with a hose, working away from the beds.
- Flush the soil. Water the salt-burned strips deeply, a few times, so the salt moves down and away from the roots.
- Repair the hard surfaces that need it, starting with cracks and potholes.
- Reseed or resod once the soil is workable and the strip has had time to show what is really dead.
Booking what needs a pro
Fill asphalt cracks in dry weather before any coating, and let the filler cure as its label says. Once repairs are done, D&D Home Services can quote driveway sealing (from $450) and gutter cleaning (from $125) on a typical Kitchener-Waterloo home, with the price confirmed in writing before work begins. Send your photos with the request, and the quote can start from evidence instead of guesswork.
Key Takeaways
- Walk the property once the ground thaws, working outward from the house through five zones and comparing with any fall photos.
- Salt burn follows the pavement, while snow mould, vole runs and compaction have different patterns.
- Sweep, rinse and flush the soil first, then repair hard surfaces, and reseed only once you can see what is really dead.
- Check that weep holes and downspout outlets were not buried, and photograph every problem before booking repairs.
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